1923 Dunhill With Incredible Blast & Her Sister Too!

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beefeater33

Lifer
Apr 14, 2014
4,063
6,119
Central Ohio
Well, I'm the proud owner of a 1923 Dunhill P shape shell. Forum member dixie posted last week of a large ESTATE of pipes he had purchased. I contacted him about the bent Dunnie, and lo and behold we struck a deal. This pipe is a real beauty!!




The blast is incredible! I haven't cleaned it up, but it really needs no cleaning. Dunhill really knew how to put a finish on their pipes in the 20's!



The stampings are crystal clear--


This pipe is really special to me, because my Grandmother was born in 1923, in Bungay, England......120 miles away from London, where this pipe was born the same year! She was an ambulance driver in WW2, and after the war she came to America.

I know the naysayers....Dunhills don't smoke any better, Yadda-Yadda.......but TO ME, this pipe is special. My Grandmother passed in 2012, at 89 years of age, and its a wonderful feeling holding this little pipe, all 92 years of it, and thinking of her. She was true Brit, teatime several times a day, made a GREAT yorkshire pudding, called the telephone a "ring-em -up", made a casserole she called "toad-in-the-hole"........ wonderful memories!

This pipe is special too, in that I also have a straight from 1923, and I've been hunting a bent from the same year for a while. (Thanks again dixie, for making this happen!). Here's the two nonagenarians pictured together:





I really think they look great together, and both have held up well over the last 92 years......

I'll smoke these on occasion, probably in quiet solitude, loaded up with GLP Westminster, and remember my Gram, and her life, and wonder about old London, and England, and what it was like.....


So, May heartfelt thanks to dixie(Steve) for making my White Whale a reality.. :worship:
If anyone gets a chance to deal with dixie, I give my highest recommendation. He sent loads of great pics, packed and shipped this thing with lightning speed... A real stand-up guy. Our forum is for the better with the likes of him!

Thanks Dixie!! :clap:

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,860
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Congratulations on the magnificent Dunnie blast in such clean condition. I love the deep craggy '20's era blasts and one of my favorites is a 1927 brandy glass that looks like a chunk of meteorite. Congratulations on finding one from your Gram's birth year. That's a very special piece.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,080
Carmel Valley, CA
All are viewable at this moment at my place.
Lovely pair, and a beautiful story.
Congratulations on both, and nice photography as well.

 

buroak

Lifer
Jul 29, 2014
1,867
14
What a pair of stunners! Such beautiful pipes would be special on their own merits, but to you they must be beyond priceless. Congratulations!

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
Absolutely beautiful and jawdropping.
Congrats!

:puffy:
It is truly a fine example, many thanks for the detailed pix which tremble me shivers,

unbeatable crag.
Great reading about your Grandmother too, makes it all extra-special and seemingly meant to be.
The grain pattern is simply exquisite.
I'm in total awe of the early Shells.
:!:

 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
What a wonderful example of the Shell blasting, and on a pretty little bent doggy. Nicely done!
I'm with Jesse. Finding Shells with blasts that maintain their craggy, cliff-like, appearance is wonderful. Too often these pipes have seen too much time on a wheel and are smoothed to hell and gone.
Smoke it with relish, and if you ever think about moving it along call me, not Al. ;-)
-- Pat

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
Beautiful pipes, both make a great pair! 1923 is getting back there! I'm glad you could find one to commerate the birth of your grandmother. I hope you enjoy many contemplative bowls with it!

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
I'll just add to what the others have said. That's a wonderful pair and I'm sure you'll treasure them for many years. Thanks for sharing them with us.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,323
11,093
Maryland
postimg.cc
The early blasts really are incedible. That one looks like it doesn't need much. I'd apply some Halycon wax by hand and start smoking it.
Do you mind if I move this to the British Pipes section? Seems fitting.

 

mranglophile

Can't Leave
May 11, 2015
390
4
United States
Like others said that blast is amazing. What better than Dunhills to mark important dates. I have my grandfather's Charatan and I can't help but think of him when I smoke it. Enjoy your pipes and your memories.

 

spartanfan

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 3, 2013
105
9
Great pipe and great write up. Thanks for sharing and letting us all get a good look at some wonderful photos.

 

beefeater33

Lifer
Apr 14, 2014
4,063
6,119
Central Ohio
Thanks for the kind words fellas! I probably won't get to smoke it this weekend..... Heading to Lake Erie to do some walleye fishing with some friends.... Cobs for the boat!!

I'd apply some Halycon wax by hand and start smoking it.
I've never used the stuff, but read good things about it... I'll order some soon- Thanks for the tip.

Do you mind if I move this to the British Pipes section? Seems fitting.

Al, Most certainly.... I should have placed it there to start with! :crazy:

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
The early [Dunhill] blasts really are incredible.
The funny bit? Though the irregular & deep blasts are the most prized today, they were the result of on-going experimentation more than intent. After the process was "tuned" enough to achieve predictable and consistent results, Dunhill said [in effect] their early output was embarrassing. That there was too much "shape shifting," and it should have been rejected by the QA department.

 
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